Affordable accessories boost high-tech experience

Saturday

He knew accessories can make a huge difference at a small price. And that's true whether we're talking about the wardrobe of a chic supermodel or dressing up home electronics.

Today we'll talk about high-tech accessories that can add sparkle and fun.

Full stream ahead

Video streaming, once available only to geeks, is in the mainstream now. It can deliver high-definition movies and television shows from the Internet to that big-screen TV of yours.

Here's the big deal about all that: You get instant access to a vast video library. So instead of selecting from the assortment offered by your cable or satellite provider or the neighborhood video store, you can literally leaf through a worldwide assortment of entertainment.

And the price is right. Some of the videos are free and others are available from commercial outlets at affordable prices. For instance, an unlimited monthly subscription to Netflix's library of streaming video is less than $8.

My choice for the accessory that does the best job at delivering Internet video to your TV is Boxee. It's a $200 box that is easy to use, offers video at up to 1080p and can stream video from commercial sources such as Hulu Plus and Netflix, as well as free video directly from websites around the world.

For instance, in my home we are likely to grab programming, at no cost, from Irish television networks. You can read about, or even order, the Boxee box here: www.boxee.tv/buy .

Although I'm a big fan of Boxee, there are other ways to go. Most of the other contenders are limited to using pre-installed applications for the most popular sites rather than giving direct and complete access to the Web.

However, all do a credible job at bringing high-quality video to your television.

So, consider game consoles such as the PS3, Internet-ready television sets and many of the Blu-ray DVD players when you investigate streaming video for your home.

Supercharge it

Desktop and laptop computers are faster than ever. But there is an enormous speed bump built into almost every computer. That's the hard disk. A conventional hard disk uses a spinning platter to store and play back data.

Because it's a mechanical device, that hard disk limits the speed of a computer. That means that no matter how fast the processor chip, your computer's speed is dragged down by the performance of your hard disk.

That's changing fast with the advent of solid-state hard disks. The idea isn't new. Memory sticks and cards have used solid-state storage for years in USB flash drives and in memory cards for digital cameras and other entertainment devices.

But until now both the price and the feasibility of furnishing a large enough amount of solid-state memory has slowed the use of what's called SSD (solid-state drives) in desktop and laptop computers.

SSD drives are still expensive compared with what you'd pay for a conventional hard disk.

But prices will fall quickly as SSD drives pick up steam on the mass market.

And, I promise, you'll be shocked when you try one; your computer will run dramatically faster.

One relatively affordable choice is this SSD drive from Kingston: http://tinyurl.com/44f3y7r .

One remote does it

Watching television used to be easy. Just turn it on and flip to the right channel. When remote controls came along that process got even easier.

But today the television set is just the start of a home entertainment center in most homes.

There is a sound system, a box for the cable or satellite, a digital video recorder to adjust, a DVD player and perhaps a game console.

That makes for enough remote controls to fill the top of a good-sized coffee table. And just to watch a movie, you may need to juggle all of those controls.

That's where a universal remote control comes in. They've been around a long time. But most models are a pain to use and set up. Anyone who has tried to key in a long string of numbers just to get the universal remote to recognize a DVD player knows what I'm talking about.

But a series of universal remotes from Logitech makes the set-up process easy. Just connect the remote to your computer using the supplied USB cable and select your gadgets from a pull-down list on the website. That list is surprisingly complete; it even included my ancient sound system. Click your mouse and your Logitech remote is instantly ready to work flawlessly with all your devices.

Several remotes, at various prices, are available. You can read about them here: www.logitech.com/en-us/remotes . Even the least expensive model delivers dependable performance.

Now you've seen my top three high-tech accessories for the home. There is one accessory I'd like to add but, at least in my search, I haven't found one I can recommend. I'm talking about the need to add a tiny wireless keyboard to my iPhone.

There are products on the market, but none that I like. Maybe you've found one I missed. If so, let me know.

Also, feel free to write me to suggest other affordable high-tech accessories that have added ease and fun to your computer, HDTV or other consumer electronics device.

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